A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Eugene Volokh and Jews for Jesus

UCLA Professor Eugene Volokh of The Volokh Conspiracy posts about "a pet peeve," of his, the notion that Jews who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are no longer considered Jewish. Volokh argues that "this claim is theologically unsound from Judaism's own perspective. Any person whose mother is Jewish (or, I take it, who validly converted to Judaism) is a Jew, no matter what he believes. Irreligious Jews are still Jews, albeit perhaps bad Jews, if they disobey the Law. Jews who follow a false messiah -- which, I take it, is what a convert to Christianity would be, from the perspective of a devout Jew -- are likewise still Jews."

In fact, however, Jewish law treats a convert from Judaism to another religion differently than a non-observant (even atheist) Jew. As explained in detail by Shmuel Golding here, "persons who did assume another religion or formally renounced Judaism are treated differently by Jewish law from Jews who, even while sinning, have not taken such actions." For example, a Jew for Jesus may not be a witness in a Jewish Court of Law or be called to the Torah, and is buried on the periphery of a Jewish cemetery. According to Golding, a "Jewish atheist has full rights in the synagogue, a Jew who has intermarried has full rights, a forced convert to another religion has full rights as we know from the Kol Nidra prayer, all these remain with and are included in the totality of Israel. But a Jew who gladly and willingly without force embraces the Christ deity, or Allah or Krishna, such a one is cut off from his people."
posted on 9/05/2003